Luthier's Digital Caliper

$48.70

Luthier's Digital Caliper

About This Item

Always one of our most popular items when we exhibit at luthiers conventions!

Our Luthier's Digital Caliper combines precision, ease of use, versatility and an attractive price, but its usefulness for fret work makes it special.

Customized for fretwork!
We added a custom jaw notch for accurately measuring fretwire crown height (the height above the fretboard). This is essential for comparing new wire to original wire. And thanks to a great idea by repairman Frank Ford, we've also added a notch on the depth gauge to measure fret height on the instrument—a real time saver.

Measures fret height before AND after fret installation

Accurate readouts in inches, millimeters, or fractions

A must for all precision guitar work

Handy for lots of other measuring jobs in the shop—nuts, saddles, tuners, tool setups and more—this caliper has long-life stainless steel jaws. Featuring LCD digital readouts in inches, millimeters or fractions, it measures outside, inside and depth dimensions up to 6" (154mm), with super-accurate .0005" (.01mm) resolution. The jaws can be locked at any position.

Zero and Measure

The main reason I bought this was for fretwork. I was sick of getting inconsistent readings with fret height because of how easy it is to get an inaccurate reading with standard calipers. Is it .052" high or .046" high? I like my frets best in a relatively narrow margin of height, so getting this dialed in is very, very important to me. For checking fret height, I first zero the calipers after getting the depth probe level with the base of the calipers. I put the calipers on a flat surface, lower the depth probe until it firmly touches, make sure everything's level, take it off and push the zero button. The depth probe on mine is level with the base at just about .077". It doesn't get any easier for accurately measuring fret height: just zero and measure. That's the primary reason I bought these, because I was in love with an old pair of Browne and Sharpe dial calipers. But I've been using these for everything now and haven't touched my dial calipers in a long time. I can get the exact measurements on screw threads and shafts, drill bit flutes, etc. - it just makes everything faster, easier and more accurate. I love this thing and use it all the time. For me it's an invaluable addition to the toolbox.

Every bench needs one

Does everything that I expected. This unit replaced my dial caliper from the early 80's and the extra features, especially the metric readout, are a big plus! I agree with other reviewers,though, about storing the caliper in the provided case. I have to remove the battery when I store it in the plastic case or it gets turned on when closing the lid!

Essential tool

Yes, you can buy similar products for less. Big deal. The notches in the jaw and end make guitar work easier. I have a set of measures from an old aerospace machine shop calibrated to the 10,000th of an inch. I checked this out against them and was surprised to find this accurate to the display. I work one handed and find the two-snap case a bit inconvenient. I didn't care for it when both hands worked, either. If I could suggest an improvement it would be an automatic shut-off if left idle too long to save battery life. Like the case, a minor inconvenience and not enough to downgrade my opinion.

Very good with one minor problem

This is a good caliper, reasonably priced and accurate. The carrying case seems durable enough - it's a nice piece of gear. The only problem I have had is that the power button is easy enough to push that the caliper can turn itself on in the case just from the little bit of wiggle room it has in there. I frequently open my case to find my caliper is on. That said, I've been using it for a while now and the battery is still good...so buy a few extra batteries and put them where you can find them and don't worry about it!